Tokyo Stocks Rise

Published 8:00 pm, Monday, February 11, 2002

Japanese stocks rose Wednesday morning on expectation the government will map out measures to fight deflation. The dollar was lower against the yen.

The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average climbed 121.82 points, or 1.23 percent, to 9,999.81 at the end of morning trading. On Tuesday, the average rose 191.93 points, or 1.98 percent.

The dollar bought 132.61 yen in late morning trading, down 1.01 yen from late Tuesday in Tokyo but above its late New York level of 132.49 yen.

On the stock market, the Nikkei moved higher ahead of a meeting of ministers in charge of the economy. The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, was scheduled for Wednesday evening.

Koizumi was set to direct the ministers to come up with measures to fight the deflation eroding the country's prospects for economic recovery, newspapers reported.

Japan has been battling deflation as the economy has entered its third recession in a decade. Deflation, a continuing decline in prices, is a dangerous obstacle to a turnaround because it drives income down and further dampens economic activity.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 21.04 to 9,863.74 at Tuesday's close. The Nasdaq composite index finished at 1,834.21, down 12.45.

The broader Tokyo Stock Price Index of all issues listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 13.26 points, or 1.36 percent, to 987.36 Wednesday morning. The TOPIX rose 24.13 points, or 2.54 percent, the day before.

In currency dealings, the dollar retreated against the yen amid the reports that the Japanese government will act against deflation.

In other currencies, the euro was traded at 116.16 yen, down from 117.40 yen late Tuesday in Tokyo.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond rose to 1.4900 percent from Tuesday's finish of 1.4650 percent. Its price fell 0.22 percent to 100.08.